Getting away from paper and paint for a while, I’m making twelve little stitched samples based on some of the tracks patterns. Each sample is about 7″ square and will be mounted on 8″ squares of black cotton to make a little cloth book.

The first one is finished:

This is whipped running stitch on hand-dyed scrim. I pulled some of the threads out of the scrim to give it a more ancient, ragged look.

Cotton scrim is a little bit like cheesecloth, Catherine, and I think it might go by a different name outside the UK. It is a little bit like bandage, but has a very loose weave and is very lightweight. If you iron it (as I did in this sample) you get a semi-sheer effect, whereas if you don’t iron it, you get something that looks a little more substantial. The threads are very easy to pull out; in fact, they almost fall out, so it can be a bit fiddly to work with and needs fairly gentle handling. It dyes beautifully.